Born: July 11, 1767 Died: February 23, 1848 Political Party: Federalist, Democratic-Republican, Whig Term of Office: March 4, 1825 - March 3, 1829 Vice President: John C. Calhoun
Presidential Evaluation
On a grade scale of A-F, John Q. Adams deserves a C-. The way in which he was elected president doomed the rest of his presidency; something which Adams did not necessarily deserve. There were multiple bad decisions made, like administering the Tariff of 1828 and failing to control Congress. But, there were also some ideas and concepts of Adams that weren't that horrible. For example, the American System, the National Republican Party, and generosity to Native Americans.
The goals of John Q. Adams presidency were to promote the American System and unite those who did not support Andrew Jackson. The latter was not as upfront as the first, but certainly something that Adams continuously thought about. In regards to the American System, Adams felt very strongly about the idea. It was based off of the views of Alexander Hamilton. It consisted of a high tariff that would be used to support internal improvements, like road-building. A national bank also played a major part in this plan. It would be used to help to unite the country by creating a national currency and promote national business. In layman's terms, it was a way for America to defend itself against the cheap products that Americans were importing from Britain at the time. Looking at discouraging support for Andrew Jackson or uniting those who disliked him, Adams did very well. He helped to establish the National Republican Party in 1825, which never took root (lasted until 1833), but had good intentions at heart. The party of mainly Anti-Jacksonians were looking to support the American system and promote national unity by binding the variety of interests throughout the different regions. They were trying to get away from "party" politicians, which they accused of putting the nation as a whole at stake as a result of putting local interests first.
Adams had a terrible relationship with Congress. He lost control in 1827 when his opponents won control of both hoses of Congress. People like New York Senator Martin Van Buren became one of the leaders of the Senate. Van Buren was both a follower of Jackson and a future president. He had the leadership skills necessary to help sway the rest of the Congress. One of the main reasons why Adams did not have much success with foreign affairs was because Congress failed to support many of this ideas. The piece of legislation that had the biggest impact on Adams presidency was that of taxing imported goods. A number of western states wanted taxes on industrial goods imported from other countries. The purpose was to protect their own industries. Southern states opposed import taxes. They produced no industrial goods that needed protection. And they said the Constitution did not give the national government the right to approve such taxes. Jackson supporters, also known as Democrats, needed the support of both the West and South to get Jackson elected president. So they proposed a bill that appeared to help the West, but was sure to be defeated. They thought the West would be happy that Democrats had tried to help their cause and the South would be happy that there would be no import taxes. The bill passed in both houses and then came to Adams. If he signed the bill, it would show he believed that the Constitution permitted protective trade taxes. That would create even more opposition to him in the South. If he vetoed it, then he would lose support in the West and Northeast. Adams signed the bill. But he made clear that Congress was fully responsible for it. Democrats in Congress did other things to weaken support for Adams. Some worked better than others. Democrats tried to claim that Adams had put his supporters in office simply because of their support. This was proven to be false considering that he only removed 12 people from the federal payroll during his term of office and kept many Jackson Supporters. Adams felt that the only reason that anyone should be removed from office should be incompetence.
The decisions of Adam's presidency that had the most positive impact on the country were the building of roads and canals and forming treaties of reciprocity with many nations. For example, the Cumberland Road was extended west on to St. Louis. The road provided a connection between the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and a gateway to the West for thousands of settlers. Construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal began. The canal proved to useful for the transportation of coal to the Allegheny Mountains. Some of the treaties that he formed were with the countries of Denmark, Mexico, Prussia, and Austria. The concept of reciprocity in regards to international relations and treaties simply meant that the favors, benefits, or penalties that are granted by one country to a citizen of another country should be returned by the other country.
The Tariff of 1828 was definitely what had the most negative impact on Adams' presidency. The tariff became known as the "Black Tariff" and the "Tariff of Abominations" to southerners at the time. The Tariff of 1828 placed a tax on imported goods. The purpose of the tariff was to promote Northern industry. Before the tariff, the South was importing cheaper British goods and this was harming the Northern economy. By administering the tariff, southerners were forced to buy from Northern factories. On top of that, Britain, without the aid of the South's business, could not afford to buy cotton from the South. The reaction of the south, most importantly that of South Carolina, would lead to the Nullification Crisis of 1832. During the crisis South Carolina attempted to nullify a federal law that had been passed by President Andrew Jackson. This also increased many people's interest in sectionalism. Adams made a large mistake by signing this tariff into law. Even John C. Calhoun, Adams' Vice President opposed the bill, anonymously authoring a pamphlet entitled South Carolina Exposition and Protest.
The act that occurred during Adams' presidency that had greatest impact on any other presidency was the administration of the Tariff of 1828. As stated previously, the tariff led to the Nullification Crisis of 1832 in which South Caroline attempted to nullify a federal law during Andrew Jackson's presidency. The state of South Carolina, outraged by both the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832, created the Ordinance of Nullification. In the end, Jackson was ready to use military force against South Caroline, but created tariff that was satisfactory to the state and South Carolina repealed its Nullification Ordinance.
The country was worse off after having John Q. Adams as president then it was before he had come into office. Sectionalism became more desired by the citizens of America. Especially after the Tariff of 1828, the North and the South were at wits end. Not only that, but Adams basically set up Andrew Jackson to become president in the next election. Americans wanted Jackson at the beginning of Adams' presidency and they wanted him even more at the end of it. Even if Jackson wasn't the best choice for the next president, he was going to get it to matter what. During his presidency Adams didn't associate with other countries too much, so he did not leave much in the area of foreign affairs. Taking everything into consideration, Adams deserves a C-.
John Quincy Adams
Born: July 11, 1767
Died: February 23, 1848
Political Party: Federalist, Democratic-Republican, Whig
Term of Office: March 4, 1825 - March 3, 1829
Vice President: John C. Calhoun
Presidential Evaluation
On a grade scale of A-F, John Q. Adams deserves a C-. The way in which he was elected president doomed the rest of his presidency; something which Adams did not necessarily deserve. There were multiple bad decisions made, like administering the Tariff of 1828 and failing to control Congress. But, there were also some ideas and concepts of Adams that weren't that horrible. For example, the American System, the National Republican Party, and generosity to Native Americans.
The goals of John Q. Adams presidency were to promote the American System and unite those who did not support Andrew Jackson. The latter was not as upfront as the first, but certainly something that Adams continuously thought about. In regards to the American System, Adams felt very strongly about the idea. It was based off of the views of Alexander Hamilton. It consisted of a high tariff that would be used to support internal improvements, like road-building. A national bank also played a major part in this plan. It would be used to help to unite the country by creating a national currency and promote national business. In layman's terms, it was a way for America to defend itself against the cheap products that Americans were importing from Britain at the time. Looking at discouraging support for Andrew Jackson or uniting those who disliked him, Adams did very well. He helped to establish the National Republican Party in 1825, which never took root (lasted until 1833), but had good intentions at heart. The party of mainly Anti-Jacksonians were looking to support the American system and promote national unity by binding the variety of interests throughout the different regions. They were trying to get away from "party" politicians, which they accused of putting the nation as a whole at stake as a result of putting local interests first.
Adams had a terrible relationship with Congress. He lost control in 1827 when his opponents won control of both hoses of Congress. People like New York Senator Martin Van Buren became one of the leaders of the Senate. Van Buren was both a follower of Jackson and a future president. He had the leadership skills necessary to help sway the rest of the Congress. One of the main reasons why Adams did not have much success with foreign affairs was because Congress failed to support many of this ideas. The piece of legislation that had the biggest impact on Adams presidency was that of taxing imported goods. A number of western states wanted taxes on industrial goods imported from other countries. The purpose was to protect their own industries. Southern states opposed import taxes. They produced no industrial goods that needed protection. And they said the Constitution did not give the national government the right to approve such taxes. Jackson supporters, also known as Democrats, needed the support of both the West and South to get Jackson elected president. So they proposed a bill that appeared to help the West, but was sure to be defeated. They thought the West would be happy that Democrats had tried to help their cause and the South would be happy that there would be no import taxes. The bill passed in both houses and then came to Adams. If he signed the bill, it would show he believed that the Constitution permitted protective trade taxes. That would create even more opposition to him in the South. If he vetoed it, then he would lose support in the West and Northeast. Adams signed the bill. But he made clear that Congress was fully responsible for it. Democrats in Congress did other things to weaken support for Adams. Some worked better than others. Democrats tried to claim that Adams had put his supporters in office simply because of their support. This was proven to be false considering that he only removed 12 people from the federal payroll during his term of office and kept many Jackson Supporters. Adams felt that the only reason that anyone should be removed from office should be incompetence.
The decisions of Adam's presidency that had the most positive impact on the country were the building of roads and canals and forming treaties of reciprocity with many nations. For example, the Cumberland Road was extended west on to St. Louis. The road provided a connection between the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and a gateway to the West for thousands of settlers. Construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal began. The canal proved to useful for the transportation of coal to the Allegheny Mountains. Some of the treaties that he formed were with the countries of Denmark, Mexico, Prussia, and Austria. The concept of reciprocity in regards to international relations and treaties simply meant that the favors, benefits, or penalties that are granted by one country to a citizen of another country should be returned by the other country.
The Tariff of 1828 was definitely what had the most negative impact on Adams' presidency. The tariff became known as the "Black Tariff" and the "Tariff of Abominations" to southerners at the time. The Tariff of 1828 placed a tax on imported goods. The purpose of the tariff was to promote Northern industry. Before the tariff, the South was importing cheaper British goods and this was harming the Northern economy. By administering the tariff, southerners were forced to buy from Northern factories. On top of that, Britain, without the aid of the South's business, could not afford to buy cotton from the South. The reaction of the south, most importantly that of South Carolina, would lead to the Nullification Crisis of 1832. During the crisis South Carolina attempted to nullify a federal law that had been passed by President Andrew Jackson. This also increased many people's interest in sectionalism. Adams made a large mistake by signing this tariff into law. Even John C. Calhoun, Adams' Vice President opposed the bill, anonymously authoring a pamphlet entitled South Carolina Exposition and Protest.
The act that occurred during Adams' presidency that had greatest impact on any other presidency was the administration of the Tariff of 1828. As stated previously, the tariff led to the Nullification Crisis of 1832 in which South Caroline attempted to nullify a federal law during Andrew Jackson's presidency. The state of South Carolina, outraged by both the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832, created the Ordinance of Nullification. In the end, Jackson was ready to use military force against South Caroline, but created tariff that was satisfactory to the state and South Carolina repealed its Nullification Ordinance.
The country was worse off after having John Q. Adams as president then it was before he had come into office. Sectionalism became more desired by the citizens of America. Especially after the Tariff of 1828, the North and the South were at wits end. Not only that, but Adams basically set up Andrew Jackson to become president in the next election. Americans wanted Jackson at the beginning of Adams' presidency and they wanted him even more at the end of it. Even if Jackson wasn't the best choice for the next president, he was going to get it to matter what. During his presidency Adams didn't associate with other countries too much, so he did not leave much in the area of foreign affairs. Taking everything into consideration, Adams deserves a C-.
Bibliography
"John Quincy Adams." Presidents of the United States. 20 Jan 2009. 4 Mar 2009 <http://www.potus.com/jqadams.html>.
"John Quincy Adams." The White House. 2009. 4 Mar 2009 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/johnquincyadams/>.
"John Quincy Adams." Wikipedia. 02 Mar 2009. 4 Mar 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Quincy_Adams>.